The present invention relates generally to air-deliverable buoys and more particularly to sonobuoys that can be dropped from the air and are capable of penetrating ice and automatically deploying their equipment for operation. Air-launched buoys are useful in several fields such as oceanography and antisubmarine warfare.
The deployment of sonar devices in the water over a wide area is one method of detecting submarines and other underwater objects. Air-dropping of such devices is quite common in current ASW (anti-submarine warfare) systems. Proper launching of sonobuoys from aircraft flying at relatively high velocities requires a compact, ballistic configuration. Upon immersion into the ocean the sonobuoy must automatically deploy into an operational configuration. Typically, the sonobuoy automatically lowers a device to an operating depth for receiving, transmitting and/or measuring some underwater phenomena. In ASW sonobuoys the device deployed is usually a hydrophone for projecting or receiving sound intelligence.
Various patents have issued on air-deliverable sonobuoys in the past. Some examples are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,213,409; 3,275,976; 3,290,642: and 3,368,480. The buoys disclosed in these patents are air-deliverable and deploy automatically using pyrotechnic and/or mechanical systems that are activated upon impact or immersion.
In recent years the need has arisen for an air-deliverable sonobuoy that is not only capable of automatic deployment in water, but also in water covered by a thick layer of ice. Such an environment requires that the sonobuoy have an ice-penetrating capability not possessed by air-deliverable buoys developed in the past.